Employers of private drivers are finding themselves in a fix as their employees are consistently failing the Kingdom's driving test which requires computer skills many of them do not have, leaving sponsors the burden of wages for work which is not begin done. “I paid over 7,000 riyals to the employment office to get a driver before the start of the school year, and ended up paying the wages of someone who can't drive because he couldn't get a license,” says Ghada Hassan, a mother of five, who may now have to find a “local driver”. The application for a driver's visa requires no technological abilities on the part of the prospective employee, but once in the Kingdom the newly-arrived driver has to pass a test which involves using computer screens and touch-pad technology many persons of impoverished or rural backgrounds are unfamiliar with. “I came from a village in the Philippines and we didn't have any computers,” says Momar, who has been in the Kingdom for just a few months. “I passed the practical driving test first time, but I'm finding the computer part of the exam tough.” Once arrived on Saudi soil, however, the driver is still entitled to his monthly pay whether or not he passes the diving test. “I got my visa, but now I'm having real trouble getting a driving license because of the touch screen,” says Mohammad Al-Sayed, who came to Jeddah from a small village in Egypt only one month ago. “I'm also in a bit of a position with my employer, as I know how to drive but I'm not allowed to, and he has to pay me. I wish I'd known about all this before I left Egypt.” At the Dallah Driving School in Jeddah, senior instructor Mahmoud Ibrahim explains why the Traffic Sign Language Test is flummoxing license applicants. “The Traffic Sign test is a system made by Saudi General Security which guides the examinee in a choice of 11 languages through 20 questions on the touch screen which requires examinees to select the right options and proceed. The first ten questions must all be answered correctly and at least five out of the remaining ten in order to pass,” Ibrahim said. The Dallah Driving School, Ibrahim added, provides training courses for persons unable to fully cope with the touch screen, but for the moment employers are the ones left shortchanged. “I think the new system is a good thing, as I want the driver of my children to know all the traffic laws and stick to them, and the thought of employing someone who can't pass the test is a bit scary,” says Fahad Tunisi. “But what also concerns us is that we are still paying for work which is not being done.”
